Down and Out in Paris and London - Chapter 19 Summary & Analysis

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Chapter 19 Summary

One day, when the narrator and Boris have been at the Hotel X for about six weeks, Boris tells the narrator that he can give his notice because the Auberge de Jehan Cottard will be opening the very next day. So they quit their jobs.

Days pass and the restaurant shows no signs of opening, so they become laborers finishing the shelving, woodwork, painting, and cleaning, but they're not getting paid for it and their money is quickly running out once more.

The narrator becomes very frustrated, wishing he'd kept his job at the hotel and wondering when he'll have a decent meal again. One morning, after having worked too late to catch the metro home and sleeping on the floor of the restaurant, he wakens to the sight of "two large rats sitting on the kitchen table eating from a ham."